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Majority condemn Harper move, poll finds

Stephen Harper was wrong to suspend Parliament for what many Canadians believe were selfish reasons, according to poll done for the Toronto Star .

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has put the brakes on Parliament for the second time in 12 months. (ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Richard J. BrennanOTTAWA BUREAU

Thu., Jan. 7, 2010

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper was wrong to suspend Parliament for what many Canadians believe were selfish reasons, according to poll done for the Toronto Star.

The Angus Reid public opinion poll released Thursday found that 53 per cent of Canadians disagreed with Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament, despite the Prime Minister's insistence it was a routine constitutional matter.

Even more than half of the Conservative supporters surveyed said they opposed the decision, while 46 per cent agreed with it.

The poll results also show that 38 per cent of respondents believed Harper pulled the plug on Parliament to thwart a parliamentary committee's probe into the treatment of Afghan prisoners.

Parliament was scheduled to return Jan. 25 but instead will not return until March 3, when there will be a throne speech followed by a budget the next day.

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According to the online survey of 1,019 Canadian adults conducted Jan. 5-6, 53 per cent turned thumbs down to prorogation while 19 per cent agreed with the move and another 28 per cent were undecided.

The rejection of the decision to prorogue Parliament was highest in Ontario, at 59 per cent, and lowest in the Prairie provinces — 50 per cent in Alberta and 48 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

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